Reggio Emilia handles Ludwigsburg away from home

Grissing Bon Reggio Emilia picked up its first Eurocup road win in almost a decade by downing MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg 65-76 on Wednesday night. Win improved Reggio Emilia to 2-1 in a share of the second place in Group B, while Ludwigsburg dropped to 1-2. The visitors took the lead for good in the first quarter, and built a double-digit margin before halftime. Lead reached 35-53 in the fourth, and after Ludwigsburg cut it to 48-54, Reggio Emilia quickly pulled away again and never looked back. Amadeo Della Valle had 18 points in victory, Pietro Aradori scored 15, and Achille Polonara had 14 points. Mustafa Shakur paced the hosts with 14 points, while Tekele Cotton contributed with 10 in defeat.

Teams traded leads to start the game, with Cotton leading the hosts, but Ojars Silins hit a three-pointer for 11-11, and sparked a 0-7 run before Della Valle hit from long range late in the first and early in the second quarter, then hit 3 of 3 from the foul line to get the visitors to 15-24. A pair of baskets from Darjus Lavrinovic opened an 11-point margin, 17-28. Jon Brockman had a put-back, and Rocky Trice a fastbreak layup, but Della Valle and Aradori kept Reggio Emilia with a double-digit lead. Jason Boone and a triple from Shawn Huff cut it to 28-34, but Polonara and Aradori pushed the margin back to 10 points, before Shakur nailed a three-pointer for Ludwigsburg to end the half, cutting the deficit to 33-40 at halftime.

The visitors opened the second period with a 0-8 run, as Polonara had a triple and a put-back, while Aradori scored on a three-point play. A three-point play from Vladimir Veremeenko made it 35-53, before Ludwigsburg stepped it up defensively, not allowing a single points for next 3 minutes. Brad Loesing had a fastbreak basket to start the run, and a triple from Cotton got the hosts within 48-54. Silins had a put-back to snap the visitors' drought, and Polonara's triple helped them restore breathing room, and 53-61 after three quarters. Aradori started, and Polonara ended a 0-8 run that opened 55-69 margin in the fourth period. Alvaro Munoz-Borchers scored for the hosts, but Della Valle converted another three-point play, and baskets from Andrea Di Nicolao and Polonara put the game away, 59-76. The visitors did not score in the final 4 minutes of the game, but did not need to, as their win was secured.